Salve! How are you? I hope the weather in Norway is fine. In Belarus, it is pretty rainy, unfortunately.

No problem. Coincidentally, it's been a shitty summer here too, with rain and thunderstorms and all kinds of shit. Normally I wouldn't really mind, but it causes a lot of problems considering that I live in the forest on a mountain...

Oh, man, I thought I'd be making my zine all that time but totally by chance I was invited to spend a couple of weeks on shores of some beautiful lake in great ancient forests on the north of my country. I had great time: beer, vodka, good company... I'm glad that I have thrown away those computers, job, writings for a while! I hope you have great time as well!

Well, it's been alright, no vacations though, really - but I can live without that. As long as things don't get too out of control I'm pretty content.

Let's start the interview... I know that right now you are writing material for your new album. When do you plan to release it? Will we experience something totally new (as we did on your Stargate) or you are not going to shock us so dramatically again?

I guess it's all up to the listener, really. I just do what "any artist would do": I move on and explore new things all the time. I know a lot of the fans don't want me to do that. But all things considered, I make music for my own pleasure first hand, and if others enjoy what I do then that's great. The new album will be experimental for a Mortiis album, a lot of new elements should be thrown in there... But at the end of the day, it still has that so called "Mortiis sound".

Do you continue to play with your toy projects (VOND, FATA MORGANA, CINTECELE DIAVOLUI) or MORTIIS is your main work right now?

I've dropped all of them to be able to concentrate 100% on Mortiis.

What do you think about your cooperation with EARACHE? Are you satisfied? Did they manage to increase sales?

Sales have increased as far as I can tell. But the real difference I've noticed is the amount of press I have received since signing on. On CMI I was getting mostly underground press, while now I get a lot more attention in "major media" as well. That doesn't mean we sell a shit load, though. But it's start, a lot more people have been introduced to us, and obviously a lot more people hate my guts as well, which I find somewhat amusing. And obviously, there's a large list of metal publications that either seem to, or definitely are boycotting us.

Stargate was released really long time ago and you don't need to tell only the good about the album like you had to during promocampaign. Now you can tell truth. What do you think about the album now? Do you think that such dramatic change in music was right thing to do? I've heard so many totally different opinions about this album...

Well isn't that the point with art in the first place? To achieve a response? That means the album has an effect rather than nothing happening at all. As far as what is smart or not smart to do, I don't give six flat fucks about that. I do what I want to do, whatever I feel will bring me further as an artist, not what the public expects me to do. Obviously, if I did The Stargate today, I'd do a lot of things differently, and better. But that's the whole point: You do something, and then you move on and do an even better job next time. It's all about always trying to do better than before.

I have seen news that your video was supposed to appear on BBC? Did they show you there? Please tell me about that.

It was a chat show about the devil in music. Not showing of videos. I did go to the UK and appeared in that show. It wasn't really anything special, but rather amusing, though.

You were supposed to tour with CHRISTIAN DEATH this year in Europe. I haven't seen any announcements. Will you? Was it cool to be on the same stage with such old cult act?

Yeah it was interesting. Nice experience. For some reason no tours have been lined up for Europe, I don't know why. I'm just waiting for the opportunity, really. But it's all a bunch of label & promoter bureaucracy in the end.

I know that your last year tour with CD was successful and you had many impressions after it. I've heard that you got lost somewhere in dangerous area... Have you changed your view on the States after this last trip to the country of Freedom? I remember how my view on this country was destroyed after the first week of staying there. All those poor ugly people from black districts, dirty streets, bad food...

A lot of things happened. I've got a tour diary that I might put on the site later for everybody's amusement. I like the states considering all the cons, you just gotta stay out of the shitty areas and the shitty junk food places.

My experience tells me that most metal bands from Europe play in small venues and bars when they tour in the States. What about your tour with CD? How many people you have seen on your shows?

Pretty much the same thing. We'd do shows in bars with no backstages, in laundromats and the whole nine yards. It was definitely bottom of the range. I felt like I was touring with a punk band, actually. The tour was poorly promoted so the audiences would vary a lot.

Do you see difference between your gigs in Europe and the States? Where do you like to play?

I don't know yet. I don't have the live experience to really tell yet. As far as communication goes, I prefer the states, seeing that I have no real problems understanding and speaking English. Too many languages and apparently poor english education in Europe.

You have moved back to Norway this year. So you don't like Sweden any more? Why have you decided to move back?

I just got tired of Sweden, no other reason. I still like it. But after nigh on 6 years, I decided that I wanted to move back to Norway. I always said that I would, actually.

You left Norway when black metal scene was number one enemy of your state. You came back when black metal bands get Norway Grammy Awards. Do you see any difference?

Well, you pretty much answered that yourself.

I would like to know your opinion about this matter: did black metal wave affect Norwegian society somehow or not?

Not really. I don't know, and I don't care. I guess they might have strengthened the security systems on a bunch of churches, but that's all I can think of.

From your postal address, I see that you live in some small town or village. Am I right? Is that the same place you lived before your departure? Could you tell me about the town?

It's just a small society and there's nothing to talk about. It's not even a village...I don't think even 1000 people live here so it's that small. No, I used to live about 30 minutes away from here by car...

Now it's pretty popular to wash away corpse/ war paint. Will you ever throw away your image or it is vital part of your music? SATYRICON, EMPEROR, IMMORTAL, MAYHEM, COVENANT have chosen to be a part of entertainment industry. Now they are rock stars, he-he. You know many of them since the very first days of black metal Renaissance. Do you think that the people has changed with years (success, money, rockstardom, etc) or they have always been the same and this was just an image, trademark.

I can't speak for these people at all. Besides, I don't really think they've become rockstars at all. it's not like they sell a million albums you know. About the visual attributes you referred too, they won't go away.

What do you think about DARKTHRONE? They seem to be the only band in Norway with the same good old black metal attitude.

Haven't listened to Darkthrone in ages. Nice to see them still going, though.

Right wing ideologies become increasingly popular among artists inside extreme scenes. Many people love to quote Nietzsche. Some go further and choose Evola or even NS views. What do you think about such tendency? Are you interested in politics? What do you think about latest events like war in Kosovo, scandal in Austria, European Union, etc.

I don't really care. You'll have to get me drunk first. As long as it doesn't directly affect me, I have a tendency to to bother enough to get involved or have a real substantial opinion about it. Quoting Nietzsche is one thing, understanding him is another.

Do you read much? What kind of books do you prefer? Do you like to watch movies? Any favorite ones?

I read, but not a hell of a lot. I usually read horror literature these days...Though there the occasional Nietzsche, De Sade book here and there. But that doesn't mean I surround my self with an air of pseudo-intellectualism. I recently saw "Dark City" quite by chance, and I really liked that one.

Vinyl is getting more and more attention last years. Will you continue to release LPs on Earache? You were one of few vinyl freaks who used to release LPs 4-5 years ago when most bands didn't care about this.

I'm not as fanatic as i used to be. But I will still fight like a dog to get my albums released on vinyl as well. The Stargate was issued on limited vinyl on Earache, so I see no reason why the others shouldn't be.

Can you call yourself a happy man? How do you imagine your ultimate "happy" life? Family, money, millions of albums sold or something else?

I'm not really happy, but I get by so I'm not going to complain. The ultimate life would be to become a much better music maker and be able to sell a lot of records on account of that, that's pretty much all i want. As far as family and stuff, i wouldn't mind spending more time with my girlfriend (in Michigan, USA) - so in that effect, making more money would help out.

More info and latest news can be found at www.mortiis.com